A routine morning at an Oregon ski resort turned into a nightmare when a maintenance basket suddenly plunged from a chairlift, killing one worker and leaving another fighting for their life.
The horrifying accident unfolded just before 9:30 a.m. on April 30 at Mt. Hood Skibowl in Government Camp, when a 911 call reported that a basket carrying two employees had fallen into what officials described as “rugged terrain.”
According to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, both workers suffered devastating injuries on impact. One was found unconscious as a third person at the scene desperately began CPR.
Within minutes, emergency crews from multiple agencies rushed in, setting up a command post at the base of Ski Bowl East. But reaching the victims wasn’t easy.
“Crews are working in difficult terrain,” the Hoodland Fire District said, revealing they had to deploy specialized rescue gear, including an ATV, just to access the crash site.
By shortly after 10 a.m., medics finally reached the workers. One employee was still conscious and breathing—but the other had no pulse and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The surviving worker was airlifted by Life Flight to a nearby hospital. Their current condition has not been publicly updated.
Authorities say the incident is now being investigated as a workplace death, with OSHA brought in to determine what went wrong in the deadly fall.
Mt. Hood Skibowl has remained tight-lipped, issuing a brief statement saying they are focused on supporting the victims’ families and staff during the tragedy.
For locals, the shock is already spreading.
“Being that we’re a small mountain community, I imagine there are people who will need time to process this,” said Hoodland Fire District division chief Scott Kline.
What was supposed to be just another workday on the mountain ended in tragedy—raising serious questions about safety and how such a catastrophic fall could happen in the first place.
